Wednesday, May 22, 2013

(I almost put the title as "Idiotic Japan" instead of "Idiosyncratic Japan"...)

He's at it again. Governor of Tokyo Naoki Inose seems to have fully recovered from his faux pas over Turkey. He now wants to have the Japan Standard Time advance by 2 hours so that the Japanese financial markets will become the first major market in the world to open.

What's the point, you may ask?

According to Asahi Shinbun who reported the news, it is to enhance the status of Tokyo as financial center in the eyes of the world. Daylight saving time (Summer time)-like effect will be economically beneficial, they say, without telling us who touted these benefits (I assume it is Governor Inose).

By advancing the clock by two hours, Tokyo can open one hour earlier than Australia.

Are they kidding, you may ask?

No, dead serious. The Abe administration will consider Inose's demand as part of the economic growth strategy to be compiled in June, in preparation for the July Upper House election.

Governor of Tokyo Naoki Inose is going to propose at a meeting of the industrial competitiveness conference to be held on May 22 by the national government that Japan Standard Time be advanced by two hours. The aim is to encourage financial institutions to be based on Japan by making the financial markets in Tokyo first to open in the world.

Japan Standard Time was set in 1886 and hasn't been changed since. However, there are examples overseas in which the standard times were altered by the government decisions. For example, Singapore advanced the local standard time in 1982.

東京の標準時が２時間早まれば、外国為替市場などが１日のうちで世界で最初に開くことになり、世界の金融市場で東京の存在感が高まるという。

If Japan Standard Time is advanced by two hours, financial markets such as foreign exchange markets will be the first to open in the world, and that is said to enhance the presence of Tokyo among the world financial markets.

Right now, the European financial markets open in the evening in Japan. But if Japan Standard Time is advanced by two hours, the market hours of the three biggest financial markets of Tokyo, London and New York can complement each other.

サマータイムと似た効果も得られ、エネルギー消費の節約にもつながるという。

Effects similar to daylight saving time (summer time) will be obtained, resulting in savings in energy consumption.

typical behaviour of 'leaders' of Japan. Instead of addressing the real problem, just come up with anything to make the populi believe you are great and the best.And believe that the problems will go away by itself, if you are so good and great.As written once before, behaviour of a 5 year old.

I'm amazed that people still tout "energy savings" as an advantage of Daylight Savings Time. This is a myth; maybe it was true back in the 1940's, but in the modern age of air conditioning and late-night commerce, it just isn't true.

Indiana is the state in the U.S. that most recently enacted DST. A study found increased energy consumption to be the result. See:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120406767043794825.html

http://www.nber.org/papers/w14429

Not to mention the demonstrated safety issue of increased accidents the first few days after the clock is reset, as people adjust their sleep schedules.

About my coverage of Japan Earthquake of March 11

I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations.

About This Site

Well, this was, until March 11, 2011. Now it is taken over by the events in Japan, first earthquake and tsunami but quickly by the nuke reactor accident. It continues to be a one-person (me) blog, and I haven't even managed to update the sidebars after 5 months... Thanks for coming, spread the word.------------------This is an aggregator site of blogs coming out of SKF (double-short financials ETF) message board at Yahoo.

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